Hi Everyone,
I've just spend a couple of hours scouring through the forums for as much information as I could, and while I know nobody can give us 100% advice, we REALLY just need to be sure we are on the right track. Our situation hasn't been easy, but we ARE determined. Any opinions on our current plans/goals or extra advice would be appreciated MORE than you can ever imagine, so thanks so much for reading.
*Our History - in April 2004 just after we married my husband was forced into bankruptcy as his mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer and he became her carer. We'd just had our first child and I had finished work. - I KNOW that lenders don't care WHY he was bankrupt, just that he was, but the time he got to spend caring for his mother before she passed away was worth more than anything in the world, but of course had we known the difficulties that would have posed us all these years on we possibly would have tried our hardest to find another way. The financial advisor told us to bankrupt and that it wouldn't adversely affect us in the future, we now know of course this isn't the case.
*** It's now 7 yrs later, he's been discharged for 4 years, and I would assume that this record drops off his active credit file this month but we would still have to answer that he is a discharged bankrupt on loan applications?)
*** I have a clear credit history, it's blank to be precise as we have never tried to acquire finance since my husband's bankruptcy, I have the normal telstra and electricity accounts only etc.
** Our Current Position -
** We have 3 dependant children, and have been renting with a perfect record of paying rent. Unfortunately our last rental was sold, so we relocated at the beginning of this year, although this is a long term rental so will not have to move again (we are trying to show stability of address as is required by lenders)
*** My husband has been in his industry for 14 years, he was with one employer for 7 years of those, and has gone into a partnership with his employer to open a new store. The new store has been trading 12 months, (our partners other store has been trading over 15 years) but of course this now makes him self employed as a 50/50 partner (my husband works the business and the other partner is effectively silent). We have traded in the positive since day 1 and I would hope that his long history of stable employment with the same industry/people would count for something, as well as the fact our partner has had a successful business for 15yrs.
** I am also self employed (I know this makes things that much harder for us) and work from home as well as being the primary carer for our 3 kiddos. I have a steady contract with one client and short term contracts with many others. I still also receive some centrelink payments for the kids. I've been operating my consultancy for around 2 years.
I won't know exact figures until after the financial year is over, but at a conservative estimate I would say my earnings are around $30000 and my husband $55000
SO THE THING IS:
Our goal is to buy a home for our family. Do we:
a) seek a small personal loan to help rebuild our credit rating?
b) Skip the small personal loan and just save a deposit and apply straight for a home loan.
c) Keep saving a deposit AND get a personal loan even if we don't actually need it, just to reprove our credit worthiness?
It really is so disheartening to know that it was a horribly painful circumstance that caused the bankruptcy in our early 20's and we continue to live with the pain of that when trying to move on with our family and adult lives.
I know for us that home ownership is probably a couple more years down the track, but we are desperate to make sure we're on the right path. We are paying rent and know we could be paying off a house for the same amount, but unfortunately it's just not going to be reality for us right now.
NOTE: My dad owns his home outright and WILL guarantor for us, but his house is not worth a lot, probably only about $150000, although we would only be looking at purchasing something under $300000.
There is a property we would love to purchase, but it's 300 acres with a 4 bedroom home only $250000, I know being on acres immediately makes it harder to purchase, but we live in a rural area We had thought about purchasing it together with us, my dad and my brother, but it just seems so , so messy and we'd rather do it on our own merits.
If you've gotten this far, thanks so much for your time, I am really just trying to feel positive that one day we can leave the hurt behind and move on like "everyday" people to buy a home.